Opinion

Most would consider it out of the ordinary, to say the least, for a woman like me, who was having children 40 years ago, to be pregnant today. But someone, or someone’s database, is convinced that I am expecting.

Kentucky’s oldest highway system – our 1,100 miles of navigable rivers – has been getting a closer look in recent months by the General Assembly.

A year ago, a permanent legislative committee dedicated solely to waterways held its first meeting; and earlier this year, during the legislative session, my colleagues and I voted to create a new water transportation advisory board, to give us and others in state government a ready resource of information from those whose job is tied to that industry.

During the early stages of a typhoon, the storm begins brewing offshore and out of sight.  It is not until the typhoon reaches the coastal shore that it takes full form and residents are forced to deal with such a disastrous storm, moving at speeds up to 200 miles per hour.  Once the storm hits the shore, it is only a matter of minutes, hours or days before the waves and wind, destroy homes, businesses and livelihoods.

The Henry County Farmer’s Market was founded on the principle of sharing. Producers in the county wanted to share their cropland, their hard work and the fruits of their labor with their friends and neighbors.

I’ve taken some ribbing recently from family members. It started a couple of months ago, when my husband noticed something was different.

As we got ready to sit down at the table for dinner, he asked “So why are we eating at the table so much now?”

Over the weekend, my own mother expressed some surprise that we were sitting down at the table to eat a late lunch I’d prepared.

For thousands of children attending school, the biggest challenge of the day may not be tied to the classroom, but to their health.

A little more than 18 months ago, the General Assembly’s Program Review and Investigations Committee began taking a closer look at this issue, to see what more the state might do to help those facing a chronic disease or a potentially life-threatening allergy.

When it comes to supplying the energy that powers our country, Kentucky plays a bigger role than most.  We represent just 1.4 percent of its population, but provide 2.3 percent of its electricity.

The main reason for that, of course, is coal, which was first commercially mined in the Commonwealth in 1820.  Now, only two states extract more annually, and only four depend on it more to run their homes, schools and businesses. Here in Kentucky, it supplies more than 90 percent of our electricity.

Our forests may not be one of the first things to come to mind when considering the drivers behind Kentucky’s economy, but they should be.

That’s because we ship more than $6 billion worth of wood products each year.  More than 22,000 people work in wood-processing facilities across the state, and their combined payroll in 2004 was about double the sale of tobacco that year.

Forests cover 47 percent of Kentucky’s total 25.67 million acres, but even that impressive amount is down about half of what it was before we became a state.

I would like to thank everyone who came out to the 28th Annual New Castle Spring Fling on Saturday, June 12.  The rain held off and it was a success!  

For the full letter, see this week's Henry County Local, available on newsstands across the county.